Hegel H95 Review (Streaming Amplifier)

[SwampYankee]

If I can't trust my own ears why am I spending a small fortune on a system? ... As long as we keep asking questions products will keep improving, at least I hope so.

It's great if you have equipment you enjoy. This forum shouldn't diminish your satisfaction. I find value in objective measurements and it sounds like you do, as well.

The points of contention swirl around why you or others enjoy what you enjoy. There's an expectation at ASR that differences in perceived sound attributed to equipment should be measurable. If they aren't, the working assumption is that the perceived difference is attributable to perceptual bias and not an actual difference in the fidelity of music reproduced by the component or system. I am generally in this camp.

"Component matching" carries some baggage in the subjective vs. objective debates among audio clans. Though outside the range of this thread, double blind testing would be one way of assessing whether the improvements you perceive through component matching are consistently discernible in un-sighted listening conditions. The same is true for objectivists/subjectivists who perceive differences in sound based any other factors, such as interconnect cables, crossover component choices, or minor differences in SINAD, impulse response, etc. The reality is that DBT is a major pain in the butt to execute and is very labor intensive. There's a lot of data available from the folks who have done DBT, but its not a practical tool to assess all components...much less the myriad potential combinations of those components.

As I stated earlier in the thread, I don't believe I can personally hear the differences among properly functioning, competently designed amps, DACs, etc. I haven't done DBT to verify that, but my confidence is enough for me to make audio decisions that scratch my personal itches. That's enough for me.

 

[steve59]

When you say component matching, are you referring to things like voltage gain?

I think maybe? I know some speakers will suck an amp dry and cause less than linear response, or the salon 2 need a lot of power for the bass to show any dynamics. That said I expect some designers do 'voice' their products to sound different so customers will notice them in an audition.

 

[Luchadorconan]

Yeh, I watched that and it is such nonsense fanboism. For the life of me I can't figure out why Soundstage hired him to do these videos. I don't find him charismatic, knowledgeable or anything positive.

What does this have to do with your so called objective measurements? I know a lot of folks question your methods, but to me the worst part of your reviews are your lapdogs. They don’t need any encouragement to be horrible. If you’re going to espouse objectivism, you might want to stay away from tearing people down.

 

[amarsicola]

What does this have to do with your so called objective measurements? I know a lot of folks question your methods, but to me the worst part of your reviews are your lapdogs. They don’t need any encouragement to be horrible. If you’re going to espouse objectivism, you might want to stay away from tearing people down.

I see a very different style here.
Yours is "Lapdogs" (names please).
Amir's is " I don't find him charismatic".
Well, the style contest has an easy winner, from an objectivist point of view

 

[Orak]

Looking at the inside of a Hegel amplifier that should tell you all you need to know just a rats nest of wires to make them quick to construct .They need to look at Naim amps for a clue how its done its just unacceptable i would not sleep at night knowing i had wired an like that.

 

[steve59]

I sleep like a baby. My h360 was a store demo when I bought it, stays on 24/7

 

[jaczar]

The H95 is the best amp that I've used with the KEF LS50 Meta and the KEF KC62 so far. The synergy is great.
The only thing that annoys me is a humming noise from toroidal transformer. DC blocker doesn't help.

 

[Everett T]

The H95 is the best amp that I've used with the KEF LS50 Meta and the KEF KC62 so far. The synergy is great.
The only thing that annoys me is a humming noise from toroidal transformer. DC blocker doesn't help.

I'd hate to know what was wrong with the other amps if this is the best with an annoying him, lol.

 

[jaczar]

They just sounded worse.

 

[sjeesjie]

They just sounded worse.

If all your amps sound worse than an amp with background noise, I’d look for another shop…
Nice video by the way. Truly show the excellence of the two brands. (That was sarcasm)

 

[steve59]

It's interesting that you say that. I went to axpona this year and listened to the ref 3 meta in a couple rooms and multiples of the new ref meta in others and in one room I remember how hard and harsh the upper mids were thru the ref 3's and on the same floor a few rooms away the same speakers being driven by hegel and while I thought both rooms had to much octave energy the room with the hegel didn't sound harsh, the highs were clear. I don't remember what the crummy sounding room was using since I only really make note of what I like the sound of.

If a person can't hear the difference changing amps can make it makes no difference to listeners that can. Back in the day of paper cone tweeters and whizzer cones around the voice coil it was likely those old low rez speakers pushing wcfl thru the am radio with a 3 octave range were oblivious to source, just antenna, baby.

If you can't hear the difference between amps and you're good with that consider yourself lucky and invest in stocks instead while they're low.

 

[Billy Budapest]

The H95 is the best amp that I've used with the KEF LS50 Meta and the KEF KC62 so far. The synergy is great.
The only thing that annoys me is a humming noise from toroidal transformer. DC blocker doesn't help.

Considering how $#!++¥ the H95 performs in multiple ways, I suggest you do some ABX comparisons with other amps to test your “synergy” hypothesis. (I think you’ll find that amps with equal gain set at the same volume levels will sound the same, except for amps that are broken or extremely poorly designed.)

 

[jaczar]

Don’t have to change anything
KEF + Hegel = warm and smooth sound with a lot of detali and I like it
But soon I’ll try the NAD M10 v2. I want to test Dirac Live.

 

[Everett T]

Don’t have to change anything
KEF + Hegel = warm and smooth sound with a lot of detali and I like it
But soon I’ll try the NAD M10 v2. I want to test Dirac Live.

If an amplifier is warm, the frequency response rolls of early and isn't linear. If time was taken to double blind tests, you'd be shocked at what your ears told you. Auditory memory is extremely short and without the benefit of sight, a lot of what you perceive will be discounted.

 

[ROOSKIE]

I thought both rooms had to much octave energy the room with the hegel didn't sound harsh, the highs were clear. I don't remember what the crummy sounding room was using since I only really make note of what I like the sound of.

What is "to much octave energy"?
Makes no sense.

Wether or not amps sound different you need to use the same music in the same listening spot in the same room at the same volume within a fraction of a DB using the same everything else gear wise. There should be as little delay as possible between switching amps for such comparison and ideally you don't know which amp is playing when, until after testing is recorded.

Otherwise the difference has no relative value. It is likely also filled with unconscious biases and is basically a big fish story.

 

[sjeesjie]

Don’t have to change anything
KEF + Hegel = warm and smooth sound with a lot of detali and I like it
But soon I’ll try the NAD M10 v2. I want to test Dirac Live.

Lol, first all the praise for Hegel and then the climax: you’ll soon try Nad. I hope it won’t humm as much as the Hegel did in your system.

 

[steve59]

What is "to much octave energy"?
Makes no sense.

You're right the word high as in high octave energy got left out. My point was Kef reference was represented in several rooms at axpona and those big speakers in the little hotel rooms sounded hard with direct and reflected treble overwhelming the music, while the character remained the same in the room with the hegel, specifically the h590 the highs didn't fall apart and remained clear to my hearing limits.

 

[Everett T]

What is "to much octave energy"?
Makes no sense.

You're right the word high as in high octave energy got left out. My point was Kef reference was represented in several rooms at axpona and those big speakers in the little hotel rooms sounded hard with direct and reflected treble overwhelming the music, while the character remained the same in the room with the hegel, specifically the h590 the highs didn't fall apart and remained clear to my hearing limits.

That's what sucks about auditory memory, it's miniscule.. level matching and the rooms alone can change perception extremely easy, even within a .5db level matching.

 

[steve59]

when we listen for specific things in specific songs, like 'sssssibilance it's there or it isn't, but even that can be due to room reflections from wide dispersion designs . Regardless of how speakers measure in a controlled environment.

 

[Everett T]

when we listen for specific things in specific songs, like 'sssssibilance it's there or it isn't, but even that can be due to room reflections from wide dispersion designs . Regardless of how speakers measure in a controlled environment.

I wasn't talking about measurements in a controlled environment in the sense that we are looking for measurements but that to be able to hear the differences after basic level matching. I'm not knocking your process, I'm just saying that it is not easy to disern why there was a difference in those circumstances.